Lupe Fiasco

Released: March 8, 2011

Featuring: Matt Mahaffey

Songwriter: David Manzoor Lupe Fiasco

Producer: King David “The Future”

[Intro: Matt Mahaffey]
You must be a radio station
And who are we, we must be
A number one song, spinnin' all day long
And over again and over again
And over again and over again
And over again
And we don't win when we call in and nothing's free
Sounds to me like
State run radio, state run radio
State run radio, state run radio
State run radio, state run radio
State run radio, state run radio

[Verse 1: Lupe Fiasco]
We interrupt this broadcast
To bring you this special message about the forecast
The future's cloudy and it's raining on the poor class
Road to peace is closed, heavy traffic on the war paths
Love is balling on a budget
The military's says it's gon' need more cash
To keep fighting for your gas, keep us in our hoods
And hope we never explore past, stay inside of your half
Believe the lies you learn in your class
That there's no treasure in your trash
And a Sealy has the same feeling as the floor has
And that's where you should stay; this is what they play

[Hook: Matt Mahaffey]
Over again and over again
And over again and over again
And over again
And we don't win
When we call in and nothing's free
Sounds to me like
State run radio, state run radio
State run radio, state run radio
State run radio, state run radio
State run radio, state run radio

[Verse 2: Lupe Fiasco]
You're now tuned into the weakest
Frequency of fear, keep you locked right here
And hope you never leave this, never be a leader
Think inside the box, and follow all procedures
Never ever believe that, you will never need this
Hit up all your friends and tell them to repeat this
Hi you're on the air, now what you want to hear
Well we ain't got the truth but how about a remix
Different is never good, good is only what we pick
You ain't got a hit, unless it sounds like these did
Not too smart, you will be a superstar
And if you dumb it some, maybe you could be number one

[Hook: Matt Mahaffey]
Over again and over again
And over again and over again
And over again
And we don't win
When we call in and nothing's free
Sounds to me like
State run radio, state run radio
State run radio, state run radio
State run radio, state run radio
State run radio, state run radio

[Verse 3: Lupe Fiasco]
So beware what's on the airwaves
And be more aware of what's not gettin' airplay
Independent spirit, you can barely hear what they're sayin'
Truth ain't getting on like shampoo on an airplane
Propaganda's everywhere, constantly on replay
All the hits, all the time, back-to-back on relay
We're really where it lives, make them hear the records we play
Build your own station, become your own DJs

[Bridge: Matt Mahaffey]
You must be a radio station
And who are we, we must be
A number one song, spinnin' all day long
And you put me on daily rotation
You're on the air, we know you're scared
But we don't care, we'll play this here

[Hook: Matt Mahaffey]
Over again and over again
And over again and over again
And over again
And we don't win
When we call in and nothing's free
Sounds to me like
State run radio, state run radio
State run radio, state run radio
State run radio, state run radio
State run radio, state run radio
State run radio, state run radio
State run radio, state run radio
State run radio, state run radio
State run radio, state run radio

The Chicago born Wasalu Muhammad Jaco first tasted success when he featured on Kanye West’s hit “Touch the Sky”, a track that shortly preceded his real breakout, his 2006 debut album Lupe Fiasco’s Food & Liquor, and he never looked back. He has established himself as one of the greatest urban wordsmiths of all time, with Genius even dubbing him the ‘Proust of Rap’.

While he’s now regarded of one of the 21st Century’s Hip-Hop greats, he wasn’t always a fan of the genre, initially disliking it due to the prominence of vulgarity and misogyny within it. In his late teens, he aspired to make it as a lyricist. In his early twenty’s, he met Jay-Z, who helped him sign with Atlantic Records in 2005. The following year, he released his debut album (Lupe Fiasco’s Food & Liquor), which was met with acclaim from fans and critics alike, as did his sophomore effort, Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool.

The following eight years of his career saw far less output than many would’ve anticipated. This can be partly attributed to his struggles with Atlantic Records. The executives wanted him to sign a 360 deal; however, as he refused to do so they instead shelved his already completed 3rd album, Lasers, and wouldn’t promote him as they had previously. The overseers at the label also interfered with his music (as they had tried to do with his fan-favorite track “Dumb it Down”); subsequently effecting the quality and sound of his third and fourth albums.

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